Oven Baked Salt & Pepper Squid Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best cooking method for squid? ›

Cook squid briefly (for a few seconds) or braise it long enough for it to toughen and then become tender again. A popular method for quick cooking is to cut the bodies into rounds, coat in breading and deep-fry. Stir-frying and sautéing also work well. The bodies may also be left whole, stuffed and braised in the oven.

Deep Fry: Preheat oil to 180° and deep fry from frozen for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Drain any excess oil, allow to cool and serve. Conventional Oven: Preheat oven to 220°C, place frozen squid on tray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate half way through cooking.

Fry – Carefully put the squid into oil preheated to 160°C/320°F (I use my Thermapen to check the temperature). Fry for 2 minutes (baby squid) or 3 minutes (the squid tubes which are thicker). They should be light golden and a bit crispy, but not super crispy – that comes with the second fry!

What's the Best Oil to Fry Calamari In? Any high-smoke-point oil — like vegetable, canola, or peanut oil — will work for frying calamari. I recommend an oil with a very mild flavor so that the delicate calamari flavor shines through.

Cantonese Salt and Pepper Squid recipe is similar to fried calamari but are tossed in a mixture of crunchy stir-fried garlic, ginger, and hot green peppers.

Frozen squid are usually pre-cleaned and separated out into tubes and tentacles, so have had the inner cartilage, head and any outer skin removed. They are much more convenient as they are ready to cook once thawed.

Calamari is simply another term for squid that is used for cooking. While squid can be enjoyed raw in sushi, sautéed, or grilled as part of a stir-fry, paella, pasta, or stew, the most common recognition of calamari is in its fried form.

Cooking Tips

Squid must be cooked for either a very short time or a very long time. Anything in between turns it very rubbery. Two minutes over high heat is plenty. Beyond that will require at least 30 minutes to an hour to re-tenderize it.

Dairy products like yoghurt and milk are the best natural tenderisers. Cut your squid into rings and place with the tentacles in a large mixing bowl. Cover with milk and then cling film and place in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.

Here is one of the biggest tips for today's fried calamari recipe: tenderize your squid rings by soaking them in salted milk and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This will help tenderize the calamari while taming the fishy smell! It also helps the flour coating to stick to the meat of the squid.

What's the best way to cook squid? ›

A screaming hot pan is by far the quickest way to get squid to the table. Slice the tubes or leave them whole, season with salt and pepper, sear the squid over the highest possible heat for two or three minutes, and you've got the perfect blank-slate weeknight protein.

Serve the salt and pepper squid immediately with a fresh green salad, some lemon wedges and a creamy garlic aioli. You can also serve it with chips or potato wedges on the side for a full café style meal.

For crispy fried calamari, coat the rings in a mixture of flour, cornstarch, and baking powder! You'll get a golden-brown, crispy exterior on the tender squid rings. Once coated in the flour mixture, allow the squid rings a few short minutes to sit in a colander before frying.

Science: Cook Squid Really Fast—or Really Slow

To avoid a rubbery texture, squid benefits from being cooked either very fast (as in our Fried Calamari) or very slow (as in a stew or pasta sauce).